Coffee appears to be effective in fighting colon cancer recurrence. Drinking 4 cups of coffee a day would reduce the risk of relapse by 42%. This discovery confirms the health effects of coffee. Indeed, this hot drink had already been noticed for its effect protective against colon cancer by researchers at the University of Southern California (United States). It had reduced the risk by 30%. Between one and two cups a day, the risk fell by 22%; 44% for 2 and a half cups; 59% over 2.5 cups.
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston (United States) studied the coffee drinking habits of 1000 participants with colon cancer during their chemotherapy and one year after.
The study’s findings show that for these patients, drinking at least four cups of coffee every day (about 460 milligrams of caffeine) reduced the risk of cancer recurrence by 42% and the risk of dying from all of them by 33%. other causes, compared to patients who did not consume coffee. The study also revealed that two to three cups of coffee per day cause a protective effect considered modest and that the effect is almost zero with one cup or less.
“One hypothesis is that consuming caffeine increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin and decreases the need for this hormone. This phenomenon could thus help reduce inflammation, a risk factor for diabetes and cancer, ”explains Dr. Fuchs, director of the Dana-Farber gastrointestinal cancer center, author of the study.
Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer of all sexes, behind lung cancer. And with 42,152 new cases estimated in 2012 in France, 55% of which in men, it is the third most common cancer after prostate cancer (56,841 new cases) and breast cancer (48,763) . If colorectal cancer is detected at an early stage, the 5-year survival rate after diagnosis exceeds 90%.
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